Kung Pao Style Chicken – Gluten Free
No need to order Chinese takeout! Kung Pao Style Chicken – Gluten Free is better than takeout and without the worries of gluten free contamination! It’s a little bit sweet, a little bit salty with an addictive punchiness from the vinegar…which I just love. Get your chopsticks out and enjoy!
Jump to RecipeIngredients
Organize the ingredients – boneless, skinless chicken, peanuts, egg white, sesame oil, cornstarch, scallions, chili pepper, red wine or rice vinegar, sugar, chicken broth, salt, and gluten free soy sauce.
Coating the Chicken
Add egg white, 2 tablespoons oil, salt, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil in a large bowl. Mix until combined. Add chicken and mix to coat. Set aside.
Making the Sauce
Combine cornstarch and cold water until cornstarch is dissolved. Combine vinegar, sugar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, broth and soy sauce in a small bowl. Set both aside. Be sure to re-mix both before using.
Toasting and Chopping the Peanuts
Toast peanuts in same large pan you plan to use to cook the chicken. Cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until peanuts are browned and toasted. Coarsely chop the peanuts and set aside.
Kung Pao Chicken Assembly
The total cooking time for this dish is approximately 6 minutes, so you must be very organized before you start cooking!
In the same pan, add remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and heat over medium-high. Add chiles or hot pepper flakes until fragrant, less than 1 minute. Then add the chicken to the pan and turn up the heat to high and cook chicken for approximately 2 minutes, mostly undisturbed. Chicken will not be cooked through. Next, add 1/4 of each the scallions, peanuts, and sauce (don’t forget to re-mix!) and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Then pour in the remainder of the sauce and 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch/water mixture (don’t forget to remix this too!) which is used to help thicken the sauce. (If the sauce isn’t thickening enough, continue to add one teaspoon at a time of the cornstarch mixture to reach desired consistency.) Combine the sauce and chicken and cook for 1 minute. Lastly, add most of the remaining peanuts and scallions, reserving a few of each to garnish the final dish. This is the last 1 minute of cooking.
Kung Pao Style Chicken – Gluten Free
Transfer chicken to a platter or bowl and serve with rice and a green vegetable. Sprinkle leftover peanuts and scallions on top.
Kung Pao Style Chicken – Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 egg white slightly beaten
- 5 tablespoons peanut oil vegetable or canola can also be used, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil divided
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 pound chicken breasts or chicken thighs boneless and skinless, sliced into thin strips
- 6 scallions tips and ends trimmed, sliced into inch-long pieces
- 1/2 cup peanuts raw and skinless
- 1-2 chili peppers fresh, halved or sliced into rounds OR 1/2 teaspoon of hot pepper flakes, amp up the heat if desired
- 1/4 cup red wine or rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar granulated
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce I use San-J
- Kosher salt and pepper if needed
- Serve with rice and a green vegetable
Instructions
- Combine egg white, 2 tablespoons oil, salt, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil in a large bowl. Add chicken and mix to coat. Set aside.
- Mix vinegar, sugar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, broth and soy sauce in a small bowl. Combine cornstarch and cold water until cornstarch is dissolved. Set both aside. Be sure to re-mix both before using.
- Toast peanuts in same large pan you plan to use to cook the chicken. Cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until peanuts are browned and toasted. Coarsely chop the peanuts and set aside.
- The total cooking time for this dish is approximately 6 minutes, so you must be very organized before you start cooking!
- In the same pan you used to toast the peanuts, add remaining 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan and heat over medium-high. Add chiles or hot pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, less than 1 minute.
- Then add the chicken to the pan and turn up the heat to high and cook chicken for approximately 2 minutes, mostly undisturbed. Chicken will not be cooked through.
- Next, add 1/4 of each the scallions, peanuts, and sauce (don’t forget to re-mix!) and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
- Then pour in the remainder of the sauce and 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch/water mixture (don’t forget to remix this too!) which is used to help thicken the sauce. If the sauce isn’t thickening enough, continue to add one teaspoon at a time of the cornstarch mixture to reach desired consistency. Combine the sauce and chicken and cook for 1 minute.
- Lastly, add most of the remaining peanuts and scallions, reserving a few of each to garnish the final dish. This is the last 1 minute of cooking.
- Transfer chicken to a platter or bowl and serve with rice and a green vegetable. Sprinkle leftover peanuts and scallions on top.
Notes
Recipe from The Philadelphia Inquirer, approx 20 years ago!
If you like this recipe, you may also like these GFchow recipes. Cashew Chicken with Asparagus, Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Bowls, and Gluten Free Chicken Lettuce Wraps (PF Changs Copycat).
Gluten Free Disclaimer
The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.
